The forums being offline haven't stopped progress on the Expanded Multiverse, if you've been wondering. Swert and I have been hard at work writing up a guide to the Multiverse, the noncanon Bionicle universe intended as a repository of fan-created characters, objects, etc. that are freely available for anyone to use in their own fanfics, with maximum room for interpretation and imagination. This guide ended up being a full 100 pages long and in downloadable PDF format. There's also a Powerpoint slideshow to view. Wanna know more, or don't know what the heck I'm talking about? Read on...

First, some history. Long ago, before I (bones) even came to BZP, the Expanded Universe was established in the Storyline and Theories forum with the same basic purpose -- a repository of "fanon" content. It died and got revived in various forms, but Swert and I have focused on an improved concept recently called the Expanded Multiverse, that addresses the old problems.

The new system is, we establish a world for all this to take place in. We fill this world both with a few characters and stuff we establish, and with tons of things entered in a series of contests in S&T by members. All qualifying contest entries get accepted into the fanon (separate PDF downloads will be offered for these), and the winners of contest polls get used in an "Adventure Mystery" story series we will produce. At this time we do NOT plan to involve canonifying anything with these contests, though other main S&T contests not related to the EM will.

The main problem with the original concepts of the EU was, ironically, the same problem that past LEGO lines had that Bionicle fixed. The lack of a story. For the first time, we are applying the lesson of Bionicle to Bionicle fanon content in a major organized way. (We wonder why we didn't think of this sooner. :P).

Adventure Mystery is my term for the style of story Bionicle exemplifies (or LOST). Our characters' universe is threatened by the Olmak Effect, as reality itself unravels. To solve it, they must unlock all the biggest mysteries about the Expanded Multiverse, and they'll do so with a lot of adventure action. We've got awesome secrets (not included in the guide, of course) we can't wait to reveal.

This story, called Cipher Chronicles, will be written by Swert, myself, and guest writers by invitation. Many characters, stuff, etc. we use in these stories will be created by you -- the winning entries in the contests.

And besides that, contests are fun anyways, so that also motivates participation, rather than just "hey here's a topic, enter whatever."

Already two contests have added to this world -- the Xian Weapons contest qualifying entries (which you can translate to Industrial Weapons in the EM), and the short Name the Multiverse (and planets) mini-contest we ran recently. The next contest is slated for July of 2009... obviously the forums being offline have delayed things, heh. As soon as possible, it'll come. Most contests, we plan to have three main categories, Text, Art, and MOCs, depending on the theme.

Now, the Multiverse Guide itself is devoted to the most important basics about the Multiverse as established by Swert and myself (and some others). It does NOT include the results of the normal contests (other than the naming one); we'll probably do other PDF downloads for those. It gives you a framework on which to build.

Yet, if 100 pages sounds like way too much for you, you have some options:

1) You can read only the Basics sections, skim the rest, etc. I recommend stopping by at least the section on Reality Shifting (p. 14) for some awesome news for those that dislike "canon restrictions" (fanon in this case); it provides an actual sci-fi reason why you don't need to worry about sticking to the details we wrote per se. Also, you should read the last two of the Writing Rules about credit and such (rules 19 and 20 on page 4).

2) If you wanna wait to explore the world in the stories, you can, because the Cipher Chronicles will be written as if nobody had read any guide, and focus on 'showing' rather than 'telling' as they say in the business.

3) Download the powerpoint presentation. It sums up the most basic basics, extremely briefly, with a focus on landmarks, in captions to full-slide ground-level images of each planet. If anyone knows my style of computer art, I produce high-quality vector art using only Microsoft Powerpoint, and did so for some pics in the guide; this slideshow compiles all of those. (There's also paper art in the guide that's not included in the Slideshow.) Sorry it ends up being much bigger in filesize than the guide -- but it takes way less time to view.

4) Something else that will probably be done... Later... That I can't announce yet. :P

So. Here's the downloads.

You can view these online, download, print, etc. We ended up doing this stuff as downloads so you could easily draw from the fanon while offline (or while BZP is offline). It will also be easier for us to edit and release other versions than a topic or web page.

NOTE: The guide intro mentions three topics that don't yet exist due to BZP being offline.

1) The Fanon Collection Topic will be in the Bionicle Reference Center on BZP. It will link to all downloads, topics, stories, and contests related to the EM. Its placement in such a prominent place is intended to make fanon content easily accessible to other fans. (The topic description line and intro will make it clear it's for noncanon stuff.)

2) The Story Submission Topic will be a place where you can go to link to stories you have written. That take place in the EM, or that take place in your own version of Bionicle and use EM characters/stuff/etc. We haven't exactly figured out where this topic will be, nor the discussion topic, at this time.

3) The Discussion Topic. In its absence, you can email comments/questions/etc. to me or Swert, with the addresses included in guide intro.